Light winds prevail at the first leg. 50 boats were on the starting line yesterday (Monday) morning at 10.00 am at Plomari Mitilini for the start of the first leg of the Aegean Regatta.

1st across the line was George Andreadis' ILC 40 "Atalanti IX", which was closely followed by the IMS optimized, x-two toner "Ellnis", (x-Provenza). Thanassis Baksebanis, chose to start from the committee boat and then headed up in order to be the first boat to take the expected north westerly wind.

Last week the meltemi, the Greek equivalent of the French mistral blew very hard and made it difficult for many boats to make it to the starting line at Mitilini. So, more or less everybody knew that this week the conditions would be moderate. The weather forecast from "Poseidon", the National Center from Marine Research, one of the most reliable sources for weather prognosis on the Aegean was reporting winds up to 15 knots from north-north east. This is the direction from where the sea breeze blows close to the Turkish mainland.

The problem for most competitors was determining the time and place the wind would pick up. The boats of both the IMS and the ORC fleet started on a close reach, on starboard tack and pointed their bows straight at Oinousses. The wind was coming from 230 degrees, and it was very different then what was expected. The light wind conditions, 6 to 8 knots gave a strong advantage to the bigger boats of the fleet that soon opened up the distance. "Atalanti IX" kept the lead during the whole leg, followed closely by the other ILC 40 "Anemos" driven by its owner, V.Karageorgiou. though 'Anemos" has always performed its best with light winds, it seemed it had a hard time to keep up the pace with "Ellinis". At the same time, two of the IMX 38, St.Tzavalos' "Erytos Lancia Lybra" and "Alpha Bank Notos" were "..too close for confort!". In the mean time Takis Pitsas's "Documento" a boat that has been unbeatable for a couple of years, under HOC, a local greek handicap system, though left behind still had some good chances. In the ORC T.Deligiorgis's "Ionia" had an important lead to the rest of the fleet.

At midpoint "Atalanti IX" was a good 45 minutes ahead of the second boat. The tactical decision to make at that time was to decide whether the sea breeze would fill in from the sea or from the shore. Though it seemed that it would fill in from the sea, and that lured some boats, it filled in from the shore. So the boats that kept on the left side of the course gained a big advantage. Slowly, the sea breeze started filling in, and by 15.00 it had gone up to 20 knots. The fleet having put up their spinnakers was reaching with speeds going up to 9 knots. "Atalnti IX" was first to cross the finish line, followed by "Ellinis" and "Alpha Card-Notos". The 20 minutes lead was not enough, so winner in the IMS Racing and Overall standings was Th. Tsoulfas "Alpha Card Notos". In the IMS Cruising division George Sykaris "Vana Violeta" a Dufour Trophy 334 was first on the finish line and on corrected time.

In the ORC division "Ionia" was the first boat to finish, at about 16.10 hours. But that did not seem to help as it only managed a 21st! The winner in the ORC division, on corrected time was Stelios Brattos "Vida" a Jouet 760. Notis Batsis's « De Mar a Mar » a Gib Sea 106, one of pre-start favorates managed to stay in second position. As the smaller boats of the fleet had gained an advantage, this performance is bound to help him for future legs.
The boats received at Oinousses the warmest hospitality! A barbeque was held on the dock, and in the afternoon a local chorus sang songs of the famous Greek composer Marios Tokas.

Today the crews are relaxing on one of the nicest islands of the Aegean, Oinousses. Most people have never heard of it, as it is not a very popular place for tourists, as it has just one small hotel. That way it has managed to keep its beauty unspoiled. Tomorrows' start is scheduled for 10 o'clock.

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Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

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Melbourne, Australia will host the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification regatta in 2015. With just under one year until the event, the 2015 IFDS Worlds was launched at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.

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